With all this talk of Sload oil and the like, we still lack the Sload as a creature. This resource seems decent enough, if we fix a few noted problems (and use the alternate textures, seen on the right here). It's actually very close to their Morrowind concept art, seen here.

The Sload are a race of weird, emotionally stunted and utterly amoral slug people. Most live on the isolated coral atolls of Thras, west of Stirk, from where they sail out on magical airships to plunder coastal regions and shipping routes for valuables and slaves, whom they sell to the Dunmer or use as their own undead servants. A good number of them also hide out on small islands and inlets along the western coastline.

The Sload have a long history with Cyrodiil and the Gold Coast. In the First Era, they frquently sent their airships for slave raids deep into Colovian territory, until the king of the Trident Coast increased security along the seaboard, using catapults and siege weapons to shoot their ships out of the sky. In 1E 2260, the Sload released a magical plague on Tamriel, decimating the population. In retaliation, the joint expedition of Tamriel's nations attacked the Sload and sun Thras beneath the waves. In later years, however, the islands resurfaced, apparently larger and in a different configuration. Contact with Sload is forbidden by Imperial Law, and all Sload found on land must be reported to the authorities or killed on sight. Still, several of them have ventured inland, hiding out in coves and ruins along the coast and the wilds.

Inversely, the Sload are also being preyed on. In the Niben, their immature grubs are used in the production of soap and oil for cosmetics (something the Sload themselves are indifferent to, as they care nothing for their offspring). In the west, bandits and pirates sometimes hunt young and immature Sload for the production of oil: this is a highly profitable, but illegal venture - and also dangerous, as a powerful Sload could easily sink a ship or enslave a crew.

Sload are accomplished necromancers and magicians: these would be dangerous and high-level foes, to be found in necromancer's lairs in the west. We could possibly have some of them be non-violent, similar to N'Gasta in Redguard. Feral Sload could also feature in the sewers of the Imperial City: escapees from the refineries. Other than that, the Sload model could be edited and used as a static object for Sload trawling.

This is a very good call. The sload will definetively get included with the next update, if it appears to work ingame (other people had issues with it). I wasn't aware of their importance myself. I thought they only lived somewhere far away underwater and didn't have a practical relevance beyond their products.

Inversely, the Sload are also being preyed on. In the Niben, their immature grubs are used in the production of soap and oil for cosmetics (something the Sload themselves are indifferent to, as they care nothing for their offspring).

I don't know if it should really be a regular business seen across the niben or rather a unique undertaking you will see in one or two places. Regular sload soap should always come from the sload themselves, as that's the story behind the soap everyone works with.

I'd say the Sload would mind about the soap mining, if they saw a threat to their own business in it.

Among the many texture variant included in the archive, I found one that is more highres like the brown sload on the right but follows the color scheme from beths concept art more closely. That is the one being used now. If you still prefer the brown texture, let me know.

Last I heard they tended to freak out when casting spells, we will have to test this creature, but I like the idea of having them in just as you suggest. We just have to make the creature work.

The creature I found in the archive was missing a bounding box. Creatures and in particular spellcasting tend to be buggy without one. I added one in and tested it around Seyda neen (with spells and everything). No problems.

If he truly finishes that one it would be cool to see an actually working amphibic creature. Not long ago I figured out that there is something like 'swimattack' among the animation groups the game offers specifically for that purpose. (the swamptroll i made for TR only uses swimidle which it oddly keeps playing while it attacks in water, I could upgrade it to have a swimattack animation now too)

So, if a group of giant slugs had evolved a brain capable of all the Sload are attributed, you don't think legs could have come about too? If we are playing that game then why do Hutts have arms? Sometimes you reach way too far...

Fun fact: the Sload were originally planned to make an appearance in TES III. When Bethesda originally started making the game, they planned to do the entire province instead of only the island of Vvardenfell. The Sload were going to be the suppliers of slaves to Dres and the like. They fell by the wayside when most of the province was scrapped, but you can still see them pop up in concept art - like in this plan for a skyport, where Sload airships would dock to sell their slaves to the Dunmer.

Infragris wrote:Fun fact: the Sload were originally planned to make an appearance in TES III. When Bethesda originally started making the game, they planned to do the entire province instead of only the island of Vvardenfell. The Sload were going to be the suppliers of slaves to Dres and the like. They fell by the wayside when most of the province was scrapped, but you can still see them pop up in concept art - like in this plan for a skyport, where Sload airships would dock to sell their slaves to the Dunmer.

it says that they have been seen in various parts of Tamriel, not just in Cyrodiil. Would that also imply that they are in high rock and hammerfell?

Also the last part says: "Collected from the Notes of Bendu Olo, West King of Anvil and Baron-Admiral of the All Flags Navy, and Dealer of Swift Justice to the Foul Spot of Thras" and he's from 1st era. so what are exactly? It is the Life cycle stuff below it? '

"If one is to understand the arcane arts, one must study all its aspects, not just the dogmatic narrow view of the Mages Guild."

Some dev comments on the forums, can't find them right now. And, as I said, they can be found in the official artbook for Morrowind hereand here. On the Preparation of the Corpse also mentions that they trade for corpses in Tear and Senchal (instead of selling slaves - I had that backwards, sorry). There's also some miscellaneous dialogue that N'Gasta had a lair on Vvardenfell (possibly meant to be Ald Redaynia).

The Sload appear to be active on the shores of southern Morrowind, Elsweyr, Cyrodiil and Hammerfell (I remember reading something about the Redguards burying their dead on off-shore islands for religious reasons, which attracted the Sload. Can't remember where I saw it, though). There's no reason why they couldn't set up shop in High Rock or Valenwood, apart from the fact that people hate them and would likely kill them on sight. Most importantly, they're in it for the money and the bodies - if they can't trade or steal anything, they won;t be around.

The notes of Bendu Olo refer only to the part on the life cycle, gifts and liabilities. The rest is all written by the PGE people, in the beginning of the Third Era.